developing a human activity system (has) map
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Developing a Human Activity System (HAS) Map
An explanation of what a HAS Map is; steps to develop a HAS Map; and ways to improve HAS Mapped problem situations.
David Alman Version 2 January 2014
What is a Human Activity System?
“A Human Activity System (HAS) includes interrelated, interacting, and interdependent parts, viewed from different perspectives, that describe a situation as a
whole.”
Three basic HAS Concepts
1. A HAS Model
Social Relations Leadership styles, behaviours, relationships, conflicts, disputes, collaborations, power, influence, social networks.
Outcomes of the problem situation
Meaning Values, beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, norms, culture, “rights”
Environment (Natural & Built) Including fuel, water, temperature, lighting, work space, building conditions
Material
Human Design Management systems, practices, processes, standards, procedures, reporting structures, policies, rules, roles, competencies
Meaning: Values, beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, norms, culture, “rights”
Material Environment (Natural & Built) Including fuel, water, temperature, lighting, workspace, building conditions. Human Design : Management systems, practices, processes, standards, procedures, reporting structures, policies, rules, roles, competencies.
HAS Model Factors
Outcomes of the problem situation.
Social Relations: Leadership styles, behaviours, relationships, conflicts, disputes, collaborations, power, influence, social networks.
Three basic HAS Concepts
Human Activity System (HAS) Map Perspective Levels
Referential
Level
Governance
Level
Transactional
Level
Outcomes
Level
Values, assumptions, attitudes, and beliefs that cause
appreciation of particular priorities and intentions and not
others
(HAS Meaning)
How things are organised, directed, structured such as
plans, organisation structures, accountability reporting
(HAS Human Designed)
How people and processes and the physical environment
interact
(HAS Social relations and Physical environment)
Consequences (intended and unintended)
(HAS Outcomes)
Perspective
Levels
HAS Factor examples reset as Perspective
Levels
2. HAS Map factors reset as Perspective Levels e.g.
Meaning Referential Level
Human Design Governance Level
Social Relations Transactional Level Environmental Transactional Level
Outcomes Outcomes Level
2. HAS Map factors reset as Perspective Levels
Three basic HAS Concepts
The two previous concepts of: 1) a HAS Model and 2) Perspective Levels are integrated to form 3) The HAS Map framework within HAS Maps (please see diagram example).
3. The HAS Map Framework
What Problem Situations can a HAS cover?
A wide range of problem situations can be assessed and addressed through Human Activity System (HAS) Mapping, including: In Human Resource Management (HRM): • Accidents & Incidents; • Harassment & bullying & (environmental) stress related matters; • Grievance & conflict management issues; • Role and workplace performance & productivity • Change management program performance
In IT and IM • Implementation of IT frameworks e.g. ITIL • IT changes • Project management performance • Client complaint management
In Organisational Services • Service quality and efficiency • Customer/client satisfaction and risk exposure
Steps to develop a HAS Map
Step 1. What’s the problem situation? Step 2. Develop a HAS Map using HAS Map Perspective Levels Step 3. Identify causes of failure Step 4. Risk Assessment to reset HAS Map. Step 5. Revise Human Activity System Map
Step 1. What’s the problem situation?
Step 1 Gather the problem situation as a story, including consequences and key issues:
Consequences: Staff have been facing increased customer dissatisfaction over the last few months. This has increased employee absenteeism, dissatisfaction, and turnover.
Key issues Customer complaints have caused employee stress and distress, and associated increased employee
disengagement, and absenteeism. Staff have raised their concerns with supervisors and more senior management both formally and through e-mails
and group meetings. No action is perceived to have been taken by management. Employees have also highlighted and expressed the view that the current customer service policies and standards are
poor and better offered by a competitor that is in the next building. This is ignored by senior management whose view is that everyone works for a successful company that values “pride of service” and “quality of service” as a priority. Employees also point out that their competitor’s priority is “speed of service” and “meeting customer needs” that seems to meet customer expectations.
Additional Notes
Step 1 . Gather the story (to be used to develop the HAS Map) based on the following question about a problem situation’s events: What led/lead to what?
Step 2. Start a HAS Map by working out the story’s outcomes, and then progressively work up through Transactional, Governance, and Referential Perspective Levels.
Step 3. Once a HAS Map is developed, bold words in “What’s the problem situation? A Story” s (above) reflect 3 aspects affecting the “Story” in terms of Interpersonal Conflicts; Work Constraints; and unmet or violated expectations From this “Conflict”; Constraint” and “unmet expectations” can be marked onto the HAS Map to indicate failure causes.
Human Activity System (HAS) Map Perspective Levels
Referential
Level
Governance
Level
Transactional
Level
Outcomes
Level
Values, assumptions, attitudes, and beliefs that cause appreciation of
particular priorities and intentions and not others
(HAS Meaning factor)
How things are organised, directed, structured such as plans, organisation
structures, accountability reporting
(HAS Human Designed factor)
How people and processes, and the physical environment interact
(HAS Social Interaction and Physical environment factors)
Consequences (intended and unintended)
(HAS Outcomes)
Perspective
Levels
Perspective Level examples
(based on HAS factors)
Step 2. Develop a HAS Map using Perspective Levels
Human Activity System Map
Purpose: Identify Customer Service staff issues.
Referential Level
Governance Level
Transactional Level
Outcomes
Current customer service policies emphasised by the executive: • Pride of service • Quality of service
Customer service policies and standards implemented
Customer service staff concerns raised with supervisors and management but no change is supported, and concerns ignored
Customer service staff are stressed as they are not meeting customer expectations. Staff feel their concerns about current service policies are ignored and morale has dropped. Absenteeism has increased
Customer Service staff leaving
Customer complaints increasing, and customer expectations unmet
Step 2. Develop a HAS Map using HAS Map Perspective Levels
Step 3 Identify causes of failure
• Constraints: “Anything that limits a system's higher performance relative to its purpose” Lisa Scheinkopf “Thinking for
a change: Putting the TOC Thinking Processes to use.”
• Conflict: “when two or more people or groups perceive
that their values or needs are incompatible” Tillett and French
“Resolving conflict: A practical approach”.
• Unmet expectations: “A violation or unfulfillment of a positive, valued expectation” John Mitrano “That’s not fair!: The social
construction of organizational (in)justice among professionals”.
Human Activity System Map (with underlying causes of failure in red ink)
Purpose: Identify Customer Service staff issues.
Referential Level
Governance Level
Transactional Level
Outcomes
Current customer service policies emphasised by the executive (Constraint): • Pride of service • Quality of service
Customer service policies and standards implemented
Customer service staff concerns raised with supervisors and management but no change is supported, and concerns ignored(Constraint)
Customer service staff are stressed as they are not meeting customer expectations. Staff feel their concerns about current service policies are ignored and morale has dropped (Conflict). Absenteeism has increased
Customer Service staff leaving (Unmet expectations)
Customer complaints increasing (Unmet expectations)
Step 3. Identify causes of failure
Step 4 Risk Assessment to reset HAS Map
Perspective Level
Causes of failure
Risk Assessment Alternative options
Referential Executive support current policies
Current policies increase loss of customers and sales
Customer service policy themes endorsed by executive: • Service meets customer needs • Consistent service quality standards
Governance Managers and supervisors do not question reported problems of Customer Service Policies
Lack of dialogue (and records) can cause additional conflict with employees, and not improve customer service.
Management and supervisors regularly meet with staff to address staff concerns and improve customer service issues.
Transactional Employee stress and morale dropping
Absenteeism, drop in confidence, and loss of staff
Customer service staff encouraged to meet customer expectations. Customer issues not addressed are reported to management to identify service improvements, and change service standards.
Outcomes Customer complaints increasing
Loss of customers and perception of services
Customer service and expectations monitored and addressed
Customer Service staff leaving
Employee resource losses Address Customer Service staff concerns and complaints.
Step 5 Revise Human Activity System Map (revisions in red ink) Purpose: Identify Customer Service staff issues.
Referential Level
Governance Level
Transactional Level
Outcomes
Customer service policy themes endorsed by executive: • Service meets customer needs • Consistent service quality standards
Customer service policies and standards implemented
Management and supervisors regularly meet with staff to address staff concerns and improve customer service issues.
Customer service staff encouraged to meet customer expectations. Customer issues not addressed are reported to management to identify service improvements, and change service standards.
Customer Service staff retained
Customer service and expectations monitored and addressed
Lessons learned from using a HAS Map
• The “whole” problem situation is looked at to develop a sustainable solution, not a local “quick fix” solution that focus only on immediate consequence causes.
• Different perspectives that caused unintended consequence outcomes are explored, not limited to a single perspective that can hide potential future problem situations.
• Systemic, non linear, cause and effects are identified, not limited to linear systematic causes (e.g. linear “why because” tree).
• Failure causes arise from constraints; conflicts; and unmet expectations that need to be identified and addressed.
HAS Map Examples The following HAS Maps example how diverse problem situations can
be addressed
• Performance Issue: Customer Contact Centre Issues
• Health & Safety Issue: Workplace injury
• Employee Grievance: Employment entitlement
• Employee Grievance: Workplace Harassment complaint
• Performance Issue: IT Division Performance issues
References
• David Alman Human Activity System (HAS) Mapping http://www.slideshare.net/davidalman/human-activity-system-has-mapping
• Rosalind Armson Growing wings on the way: Systems thinking for messy situations (2011). Triarchy Press.
• John Mitrano (1997) “That’s not fair!: The social construction of organizational (in)justice among professionals”. University of Texas Press.
• Naiker, Hopcroft, and Moylan. Work domain analysis: Theoretical concepts and methodology http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a449707.pdf
• Lisa Scheinkopf “Thinking for a change: Putting the TOC Thinking Processes to use.” (1999). St Lucie Press.
• Tillett and French “Resolving conflict: A practical approach” (2007). Oxford University Press.
• David Patching Practical Soft Systems Analysis (1990). Pitman Publishing.
About the author David Alman lives in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and is the business owner of Proventive Solutions, which offers services in Organisational Health. Organisational Health is a broad overview term that refers to assessing and improving performance and well being of both an organisation and its employees, recognising there is a nexus between the two. Further author articles, blogs, and slides, can be found on the Proventive Solutions Google Site. Please refer to https://sites.google.com/site/proventivesolutions/ This powerpoint is part of a body of work on Systems Thinking with a common base around the idea of looking at, and addressing, situations through different “Perspective Levels”. Other articles in this body of work include: Human Activity System (HAS) Mapping at http://www.slideshare.net/davidalman/human-activity-system-has-mapping and http://en.calameo.com/read/0014509349aed27553fc3 Multilevel System Analysis : An introduction to Systems Thinking http://www.slideshare.net/davidalman/multilevel-system-analysis and http://en.calameo.com/read/001450934d8a5a5d9b090
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